GOAL looks at the biggest storylines among Americans Abroad, including crucial matches for Milan and Juventus
It's gearing up to be a big weekend for American abroads, with Christian Pulisic's AC Milan, Weston McKennie's Juventus and U.S. internationals in the English Championship taking center-stage.
In Serie A, Juventus and AC Milan are in must-win territory – both teams must find a way to guarantee European soccer in the 2025-26 season. Juventus – with U.S. internationals McKennie and Tim Weah – hit the road to take on Bologna in a clash of top-five teams, while Pulisic, Yunus Musah and Milan travel to take on Genoa as they search to climb into a top-six spot in Italy.
Pulisic is back to his scoring ways and amid a fine run of form, and is looking to lead the to a big three points. However, an there's an emerging storyline for Weah and Musah – both are slowly falling down the pecking order as the European season comes to a close. Can they make an impact when needed?
GOAL looks at some of the biggest storylines to follow among Americans Abroad this weekend.
Getty ImagesJuventus must make a push
Weston McKennie and Juventus clash with Bologna in a meeting of Serie A's top-five teams on Sunday. The who sit fourth in the league standings travel to take on fifth-place Bologna – who trail them by just one point in the table.
It's going to be a crucial match for Igor Tudor's men in their search for UEFA Champions League soccer in the 2025-26 season. To maintain their current top-four spot in the table, it's three points or bust for Juventus this weekend – and for McKennie, it will be a crucial match to show he has what it takes to lead the club in big moments to close out the campaign.
Weah will also be in the mix, but the winger has found himself out of favor under Tudor since his appointment following the sacking of Thiago Motta. In five matches under the new coach, he's started just once and come off the bench in the other four games for a total of just 137 minutes during the stretch.
McKennie, meanwhile, has started all five matches and gone 90 minutes in three of them. He'll look to continue that streak this weekend, while leading his squad to an important victory as they search for European soccer at the highest tier next season.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMilan's fight for Europe
AC Milan's best hope at playing European soccer in the 2025-26 season comes in the Coppa Italia. The have already qualified for the final of the competition and the winner of the tournament automatically earns a berth in the UEFA Europa League next season.
That said, there is still an outside chance for Milan to qualify on their own – they would likely need to win their four remaining Serie A matches. The first of those arrives on Monday, when Pulisic and Milan hit the road to take on Genoa. Milan will be favored, and it should be viewed as three points or nothing for the
Pulisic is coming off of a week in which he scored the winning goal against Venezia in Serie A play. A return to form as the season closes out would not only benefit him individually, but immensely aid Milan as they attempt end the campaign on a high note.
Musah will also be available for selection, but he has fallen down the pecking order under Sergio Conceicao – going unused as a substitute in four straight matches across all competitions after being subbed off the pitch just 23 minutes into a contest against Fiorentina after making an early mistake leading to a goal for the opposition.
Getty Images SportWright heading to Championship playoffs
Haji Wright and Coventry City are heading to the Championship playoffs after a 2-0 win over fellow USMNT player Aidan Morris and Middlesbrough on the final day of the season.
The Sky Blues entered Saturday in a five-team battle for the final two playoff spots, alongside Bristol City, Millwall, Blackburn, and Middlesbrough. With Burnley and Brendan Aaronson’s Leeds United already securing automatic promotion to the Premier League, Sheffield United and Sunderland had also locked in playoff berths ahead of the finale.
Coventry's win was enough to punch their ticket, barring an improbable scenario where Millwall would’ve needed to beat Burnley by six goals to leapfrog them. Middlesbrough, meanwhile, missed out on the postseason with the loss.
Getty ImagesAround the continent
+ With three points on Saturday against Wolfsburg, Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund could climb into a UCL spot in the Bundesliga standings – pending results around the league. Sitting sixth in the German first division on 48 points, a win would see the move to 51 on the campaign – level with fourth-place Freiburg, who have a lower goal-differential than Dortmund.
+ With a victory Saturday over Fortuna Sittard and an Ajax loss to NEC Nijmegen, Malik Tillman and PSV will move within four-points of the league-leaders with two games to spare in the Eredivisie season – pushing the title race to the final weeks of the campaign.